My Last college trip-2015

I am a travel fanatic. I absolutely love travelling and explore places. This could be because my family tours a lot at least once a year. It is kind of a routine till I joined college. So, after college begun my life activities altered so much it felt like my life does not belong to me anymore. One fine day my faculty asked my class to choose any one place for college trip. The options given were Munnar (Kerala), Avalanche (Tamil Nadu) and Masinagudi (Karnataka). All are tourist spots, offers great accommodation, etc. So after a big discussion of comparing the places we all got confused instead of coming to a conclusion. 

Somehow, after a series of events the place chosen was Masinagudi. I had no clue there was a place with such a tongue twisting name existing in South India. I started to think... Why does the name of the place is weird? How come it is not a famous tourist spot in South India? Is the tour operator making us spend piles of money for some deserted place? Maybe there is no such thing as Masinagudi. Thanks to internet all my queries were almost answered. Even though I was a bit sceptical about the place I had no other choice this was my last trip together with my college pals. So, my trip to Masinagudi was confirmed, train was booked and itinerary was provided.

My journey started when I reached the Chennai Central (Train station). The art of finding the right coach where you get to be seated is a talent. Because I and my mom were walking around the station for a while to discover the platform we needed was right before us when we first arrived. My enthusiasm got exhausted until I saw my friends standing with their dear ones. There is something about certain people that can make you smile; like the flame, lit the lamp. We greeted laughed and cherished the moment. 

Until, my classmate who arrived late started to have seizures. 

I didn’t saw but my parents did and got too worried. They described every detail like how blood came from her mouth, how she could not stay stable, how weak she became, etc. My mother instead of telling me take care or be safe or call me; She said never forget to drink water. I understand water or H2O is important for body metabolism but how is that an appropriate thing to tell to a daughter who is going to a college trip. Still, she’s my mother so I had to obey her wish. 

After all the scary stuff happened, we were informed that different kinds of creepy people might enter the train so keep yourself and your belongings safe. After such a statement, who can sleep peacefully or enjoy the train ride. But the thought faded away as soon as we started to play songs, gossips, etc. The morning I woke up to the scenery of fields, crops, ponds, etc. We reached Mysore and had our breakfast in the bus. The breakfast items by kannada people are delicious. It was given in a plastic boxes containing sambhar, chutney, idly, pongal, masala dosa and kesari. Early morning hunger games satisfied. 

Then the bus journey started; the old buildings in Mysore are delight to the eyes. The irony is Masinagudi is a place that is in Tamil Nadu but can only be reached faster from Mysore. The resort was a fantastic place. All the gangs got their room key but we were requested to wait i.e. stranded in the lobby. After a long wait the hope of getting the keys was gone until we saw them. The entrance of the room was cool we all got mesmerised by the view. The room was beside a stream; calm, tranquil, and peaceful. The floor and roof was made with terracotta. The whole place was literally surrounded by bamboo trees. We all freshen up and relaxed for a while. Some of us were in awestruck by the room we got. You know what teen girls do when they see unbelievable stuff happening they scream in joy, that’s exactly what happened. 

The evening we hopped into a jeep and went on a safari. We spot wild bison, Lion tail monkeys, birds, and a beautiful lake. On our return from the safari we took some spooky pictures of ourselves on the way to the resort. The next day we all visited Mudhumalai forest. It had a tiny museum/ info centre where we saw embalmed animals, photos, etc. We waited for a while for the bus which takes us inside the jungle. We spotted herds of deer, elephants and a few peacocks. Later we saw a place where tame elephants were kept, feed and taken care regularly. There were few pigs nearby the elephants which ate the food that was leftover.

Elephants are big creatures with a childlike behaviour. One refused to eat the food, one was eagerly waving its head and one was too sleepy to even chew the food. I could relate myself with them. Later, that night we had campfire partially ruined with number games conducted by the resort fellow. The next day was just relaxation time. We walked around the resort in nomadic manner, took pictures, spotted monkeys, and ate breakfast. another fun activity was to touch the touch-me-not plants. The breakfast was the time I discovered orange marmalade. I have never heard or ate it before. My friend told me that it is delicious and I should try some. I tried it. Trust me orange marmalade is solution to half of the problems. The tangy taste is absolutely divine and you must also try it at least once in your lifetime.

Then we all packed our bags and said our good bye to this place. We then came to Mysore for shopping. My college people were so careful they did not included Mysore palace, Mysore zoo, etc into our tour schedule. Only shopping; which I can do in Chennai itself. We roamed like anything into the streets of Mysore and then hopped into the bus to reach train station. That’s how my last college trip ended. Altogether we all had a good time.